Quotations

Throughout the mission, which still continues under the U.S. and NATO-led Operation Resolute Support, American and European advisers were beset by "politically constrained timelines" from the Obama White House, who had outlined a precipitous troop withdrawal schedule that culminated with a full U.S. pullout by 2014, Mr. Sopko said during a speech at the Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.